A YEAR ago, about 25 People's Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament were on Facebook.
This week, a check showed that at least 41 of the 81 PAP MPs are on the popular social networking site.
They include Deputy Prime Ministers Wong Kan Seng and Teo Chee Hean, and Ministers George Yeo, Yaacob Ibrahim, Vivian Balakrishnan and Lim Hwee Hua.
The online surge is part of a concerted move by the party to boost its cyber-presence at a time when younger people are spending more time on the Internet.
MPs say the party's 84 branches are encouraged to go online in a manner members are comfortable with.
Facebook is a popular platform, with more than 42 per cent of those over 15 years old here using it, according to marketing company Nielsen.
This translates to more than two million users, many of them young: 77 per cent of those in their 20s are on the site, compared with 55 per cent of 30-somethings and 26 per cent of 40-somethings.
Most MPs have accounts in their own name, although some have pages under their PAP branch or ward such as Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang's Telok Blangah branch, or Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan's Sembawang ward.
Their pages are updated daily or several times a week, with comments and photographs.
In recent months, MPs have been exchanging ideas on the use of Facebook to broadcast events or gather feedback on issues.
They may get a 'poke' on Facebook - the virtual equivalent of saying 'hi' - frivolous messages, or requests from residents to meet.
Going online, they said, has helped them better engage with constituents and win their confidence.
Without having to go down to weekly Meet-the-People sessions, residents can suggest improvements to their ward, seek help on jobs, or just find out more about their MPs.
Central Singapore District Mayor Zainudin Nordin, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, has received requests from residents seeking jobs.
'It is an enabling tool that allows residents to communicate with us easily, and see what we are up to,' he said.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary and North East District Mayor Teo Ser Luck said a key advantage of Facebook is that it consolidates information from a variety of people at a glance.
'It has helped me know better what people feel about a range of issues and how they respond to our work,' said the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP who has his own Facebook site.
Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, who chairs the PAP's new media committee, told The Straits Times the growing Facebook presence of MPs and party members is a 'natural evolution' as they find social media a convenient way to reach out to people and communicate with residents.
The PAP is also training its members on how to use new media, added Rear-Adm Lui, who is Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts.
